As a staff, the Central Times strives to recognize the accomplishments, talents, personalities, ambitions and dreams of the diverse student body. Each week, the Central Times will interview an outstanding Central student from each grade level and then feature these students on our website, centraltimes.org, as Redhawks of the Week. These students are nominated by their peers. If you wish to nominate an outstanding Central student for Redhawks of the Week, please tweet the student’s name and grade to @centraltimes, message the Central Times on Facebook, or submit your nomination during school to Room 218, the Central Times office. 

1. What are your post high school plans?

After high school, I plan to experience college—preferably somewhere not too close to Naperville, so I can discover as many new things as possible—and after that, to hopefully raise a family early while working at something I enjoy. I’m not sure about the specifics, but I feel like I’ll never be sure about the specifics, so I’ll take life as it comes.

 2. How do you fit into the NCHS community? What activities are you involved in and what do you contribute inside and outside of the classroom? 

The NCHS community is great; I always feel that so many people work so hard to give students the best possible experience. Most of my junior high friends went to North, so freshman year was more of a get-to-know-you year. After that, NCHS has been a party, especially playing soccer during the fall and getting to know everyone on the team. I’m not an ideal student, but I do well enough in school, and I do have a competitive side, always wanting to make my work bigger and better than that of my closest friends.

 3. What are you most proud of? 

I haven’t done anything particularly great in my life, so I guess I’m most proud of how I interact with my friends because I know I helped shape who they are, and they helped shape me. So many will grow up great, and I’m proud to say I influenced them as students. (It sounds cheesy, but it’s true.)

 4. What is your life dream? 

Before I die, I want to go somewhere and live among poverty, for a short or long period of time. I want it to be a mission to help people, of course, but I also want to see what it’s like, what we’re protected from—what I (thankfully) never knew while growing up.

 5. What is something about you that you would like other Redhawks to know about you?

I’ve played the violin and listened to professionals playing the violin since I was three. I think it’s made me a pretty romantic person—not necessarily in the lovey-dovey sense, but in the old-fashioned, chivalrous, code-of-honor type sense.

 6. Favorite high school memory?

It has to be Homecoming 2013—I went with my best friend, in a group with my best friends, and I never want to forget how much fun I had at the dance.

 7. Favorite joke or quote

If I were to ask you out on a date… would your answer be the same as the answer to this question?

 8. What is something you can’t live without?

I watch soccer every week, and I don’t think I could live without it. I mostly watch English soccer—I’m an Arsenal fan—and I’ve often privately considered moving to London one day to personally watch every week.

 9. What are three adjectives you would use to describe yourself?

Romantic, Ambitious (about some things), Tall

 10. If your life were a movie, what would be the title?

Secret to Happiness

 11. Who is your biggest hero or role model?

Outside of my family, my biggest hero is probably Ms. Meg, who taught me violin from the time I was four to the time I was twelve (I think). I’m not going into music like her, but I can barely remember a time before she was teaching me, and everything about me—my personality, my likes and dislikes, etc—has evolved from or been influenced by the values she taught me in the music world.

 12. What is a motto you live your life by?

Rod Serling’s quote, “I have never written beneath myself. I have never written anything that I didn’t want my name attached to.” I want to be proud of what I create.